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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. deal — to handle
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. bass — the fish
  5. capital — a city
  6. drill — a practice
  7. capital — money
  8. staff — employees
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. bat — the animal
  11. drill — army training
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. drill — the tool
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. staff — a stick
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bass — low music
  19. band — a music group
  20. band — a ring
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. staff — employees

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com